Monday, January 16, 2017

Intentional: My 2017 New Year's Resolutions

Each year, Kyle and I write up our resolutions on NYE, make a copy of them, and then burn them in the fire. This year Bill joined us and this year, we took it very seriously. We worked on them for about an hour. We broke away from the party and worked on our lists in my parents' bedroom, away from the noise. After we were done, we shared them with each other and then we headed down to the fire. I don't know how or when this tradition started, but I love it. Bill's traditions were short and sweet (get up earlier, work out, eat healthier and be more social) and then he left, but Kyle and I took awhile to read ours to each other. We listened and shared input and helped to build up each other's resolutions. 2017 feels like a year to make real changes. Kyle and I both feel more adult this year than we ever have before and so it seemed wise to take real stock of our current situation and assess what we need to change.

My overarching word for the year is intentional. I've noticed that this is a lot of other bloggers' words too. Must be the year for it!

I broke my resolutions up into categories, so that is how I'll list them here. I must admit that I'm a little nervous to put these out into the world for anyone to read, as some of them are a little personal, but I'm going to do it because I think that sharing them will help me to remain accountable.Social life

Make more friends, but not just any friends. I want to make friends who are inspiring, kind, allow me to feel free and to be my best self, friends who build each other up, friends who do big things, and friends that are also married or in serious relationships. I also want to take advantage of living in DC. There are a lot of cool things that happen here and sometimes I let opportunities go to waste simply because I'm feeling lazy.

Relationships and Family

In general: Have more meaningful conversations with others, Find, reach out to, and connect with people who inspire me

Bill: Make time to connect with and "date" Bill. Work on compromising when we disagree. Stop being such a bitch when I'm in a bad mood. I take it out on him, which isn't fair and it's something I really need to work on.

Family: Keep in touch with my family more. Visit Cleveland more often. Call Nanny (my grandma) once a week. Have serious discussions about growing our family and if we choose to do it now, get serious about it

Pet: Give Pumpkin more attention - brush him more often, set aside time to play with him, clean his litter box daily, etc.

Finances
Don't be frivolous, but don't be stingy - be intentional about my spending. Just because I want a latte on a whim doesn't mean that I should go out and buy one, but if I really, really want one or if I'm super tired, it's ok to buy one!
Goal: Pay off all credit card debt. Full disclosure, it's around $6500 and my goal is to pay this off as aggresively as possibly. First quarter of the year.
Save as much as I can
Only eat lunch out one day per week
This is a new one that wasn't on my original resolution list, but we are going to try to buy a house this year. I want to take this process very slowly and learn as much about it as we can before we do anything. Any advice is welcome!

Health/Wellness

Diet and Exercise: Get on a healthy diet and get in shape. We likely will be trying to have a baby this year and I want my body to be in optimal condition both for myself and so that the baby will be in the healthiest environment possible. Exercise daily or a minimum of 3-5x/week. Take my vitamins daily. Get more into yoga. Eat a plant-free diet more often than I eat meat. Truly think of my body as a temple.

Mind: Do things that inspire me and make me feel good. Get organized and stay that way Allow myself to fully embrace my "hippy" tendencies (really get into yoga and meditation, use chemical-free products, eat organic when I can and should, learn about the moon, crystals, and sage). Relax - take time for me, but don't overdue it. Take advantage of the time I have. Take a solo trip if the timing is right. Learn to be happy with what I have by either fixing what I'm unsettled with or accepting fully and letting go of what I don't have. Become more politically active. Now, my #1 resolution for the year is to get up early and ON TIME.

Career
This is the only resolution that I'm going to keep off of the blog, for work reasons, but if you're interested, reach out to me and I'll fill you in!

Looks
Get on a good skincare regime and improve my skin. Actually style my hair and do makeup daily and try to get good at makeup. If I get to a point where I can afford them, get hair extensions. Finally try colored contacts.

Specific tangible goals that either came out of my resolutions or are in categories of their own:

Wake up early daily

Pay off credit cards by April 30

Pass the bar exam

Read at least 25 books

Lose 10 lbs

Take my sister to Harry Potter World to celebrate her college graduation (a year later!)

Blog at least 3x/week

That's it! It looks like a lot, but I think it's doable. I certainly hope that at the end of the year, I'll be able to look back on this and feel that I stick with many of these resolutions.

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